The adventure of Naïma and David begins at a crossroads in Beaune. Each going their own fiercely independent way, they found one another at a serendipitous moment, and committed to making wines that express their shared convictions. In Chassey-le-Camp, located at the northern edges of the Côte Châlonnaise, the Didons practice their craft in variations that highlight their journey, terroir, knowledge, and dedication.

David’s journey began at the agrobiology school of Beaujeu, where he was imbued with the history and legacy of biodynamic agriculture. It’s there that he immersed himself in the works of Rudolf Steiner and formulated an approach to farming that went beyond a set of specific practices, yet informed his whole approach to the living world around him. He worked in various pastures, gardens, and farms in Alsace until he landed in a pioneering vineyard in Lorraine with Michel Goujot, creating organic and natural wines when few others thought it possible.

Inspired by this experience, he propelled himself into the world of winemaking by moving to Beaune to study viticulture. It’s there that he met Naïma, and Burgundy has been their home base since. Finding work with Etienne de Montille in Volnay, he led the estate’s conversion to organic and biodynamic farming, and became interested in ways of making wine without intervention. In 2017, David and Naïma acquired a 2-hectare parcel, “Les Vignes Blanches,” on a steep, southeast-facing slope above the entrance to Chassey-le-Camp. Thus, Domaine Didon was born.

The village of Chassey-le-Camp was once a continuous viticultural operation, the product of which was sold to négociants all over Burgundy. After the production crisis of the 1930s, along with the subsequent enforcement of designations of origin, the vineyard became mostly appropriated by other agricultural endeavors, or simply abandoned. The Chasséen viticulture is now only occasionally recognised as part of the broader Bouzeron terroir and its aptitude for exceptional Aligoté. Les Vignes Blanches, emblematic of the winery, was planted from massale selections of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Aligoté in the years between 1947 and 1960. The soil is composed of extremely mineral-rich clay on limestone subsoil. Combined with the steep incline and oceanic climate, the parcel offers a unique, exemplary setting within which Naïma and David can realize their project.

The Didons’ approach to their craft combines the wisdom of lifelong workers with the conceptual reach of mindful dedication. Everything is tended manually, the soils are diligently plowed, and the vines are pruned for generous and healthy yields. In the cellar, pressing is slow and indigenous yeasts are very strictly monitored. The pair’s négoce wines have minimal added SO₂ (typically under 15 mg/L), whereas the estate wines have no added SO₂.

This rigorous attention to detail, biology, and chemistry, is just a part of a broader spiritual communion that Naïma and David believe in. As the duo describes it, they also give their wines information and hints to nudge them, so to speak, towards their maximum potential. Such pushes could be a homeopathic treatment to remind the wine to stay true to itself, or, quite simply writing messages on the tank (“nourishment for the soul” and “sex, drugs, and rock and roll” are a few of the clever ones we’ve seen!)

Since 2017, Naïma and David have nearly tripled the surface area they work on, having acquired parcels of Gamay, Pinot Blanc and Aligoté, and are planting more Pinot Blanc with their own massale selections. They continue to collaborate with neighbors and friends in creating négoce wines that stir them just as much as those from their own vines, including a Riesling/Muscat homage to David’s beginnings. The joy they infuse in their work is palpable, and their vision is hopeful. To quote them:

“We have a feeling that, slowly but surely, we’re coming closer to our quality objectives. Precision in the vines, rigor in the cellar, as well as biodynamics, grant the wines a precise and living expression. These wines don’t merely reach the ordinary senses of taste and smell, but also, perhaps, a sense unique to a humanity that is gradually manifesting itself and for the first time savoring the ‘sense of the living’.”